


What Once Was Mine

by aliensinflowercrowns



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Or More Like, Rapunzel AU, Tangled AU, barry is flynn rider, but like human plus, everyone is human, just stick with me here, lup is rapunzel, magic exists but it works different
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-28
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-01 22:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16774567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliensinflowercrowns/pseuds/aliensinflowercrowns
Summary: Lup lives in a tower of black velvet, tormented by dreams she can't remember, her aunt and uncle acting as her only contact to the outside world. Taako lives in a castle, his heart locked in his chest behind years of loneliness and isolation. Barry just wants to get out of all of this alive.A damsel who can damn well handle herself, a not-so-charming rogue, a prince with little interest in ruling, and a royal guardsman with feelings he refuses to acknowledge. It's the adventure zone!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: Updates shall be sporadic as all hell, I'm super busy and working on a thousand other fics, but i got swept up with this idea and had to post the first chapter. thanks for sticking with me!

There is a way that all good stories start. Four simple words that settle the stomach and open the mind, promising a tale of triumph and adventure. There may be trials, sure, but our heroes will always prevail in the end. A sense of safety.

But this is not a good story. This story promises no triumph. No happy ending. How can everyone be happy in the end? Someone always has to get the short end of the stick. Our heroes learned this the hard way.

Depending on how you read it, this story has one hero. Or maybe two. Or maybe four. Good things come in pairs.

No matter how you read it, this story starts with sickness. It begins and ends in death, as many stories do.

Lydia and Edward were young when their brother died. He was pale, his cheeks sunken and his eyes even more so. He shivered, feeling a coldness no one else could. His voice was long gone, and all he could do was cry. They did a lot of crying, the three of them.

Their house was cramped. Their brother’s sickness permeated everything. It grew like mold on the walls. He coughs and whimpers echoes, bouncing off the cobblestone and rattling around in their heads.

They were powerless as they watched him waste away.

They had never been good, they could admit that. Always a little selfish, always a little sharp, always a little greedy, always a little mean. But they weren’t cruel. They weren’t bad. Not until Keetz. When Keetz died, any soft part of Edward and Lydia died as well.

They didn’t bury him right away. He rotted away in the house, on the bed, his eyes open and his jaw slack, as if staring at something in awe. Lydia cried until she was empty. Cried until her throat was raw. She screamed and wailed and clawed at the walls. Her nails broke and her fingers bled. Edward simply stared. He sat against the door, locking them all in, and stared into nothingness, just like his brother. He didn’t eat, he didn’t sleep, he barely blinked. Unlike his sister, he didn’t need to hollow himself out. He was already empty.

For three days they mourned. Townsfolk tried to come in, either because of the corpse’s smell, or Lydia’s screams, or maybe, a sense of pity, but to no avail. Three days after their brother took his last breath, Edward and Lydia, without a word, both stood up, picked up their brother, and went to the edge of town. Edward dug the grave, while Lydia watched the body. It was silent. They worked nonstop.

They placed him in the ground. Lydia filled the grave. Edward placed a stone, one that he found a few feet away.

They looked at each other, and spoke for the first time in ages.

“This won’t happen again,” Edward said.

“Not to us,” Lydia agreed.

They clasped hands and walked away, their hearts as cold as their brother in the ground.

Taako was born first. No one remembers, and even if they did, they’d never tell, but he was. He was born exactly two minutes before his sister, and he hated every second. He screamed and screamed, flailing his balled up fists, for exactly one hundred and twenty seconds.

And then there was Lup, and Taako was quiet.

They were placed in the same bassinet, and the first thing they did was hold hands. They didn’t need anyone to comfort them, they were perfectly content with each other. This was good, since, in the immediate aftermath of their birth, little attention was paid to them.

Their mother, the Queen, hadn’t been well before the birth, and she was worse afterward. Twins were hard on the body, after all. But this sickness was something different. It was more deadly. She passed in the night, violently. She clutched the hand of her husband, her pillows stained with blood.

The kingdom mourned, but the suffering was not through. Two days after the Queen’s death, a wet nurse was rocking Taako and Lup to sleep, when Taako coughed. The wet nurse watched in horror as a trail of blood slipped down the baby’s chin.

She placed them in their bassinet and immediately ran to find the King. No one saw, but exactly two minutes later, Lup coughed as well, and a matching trail of blood appeared.

The King sprang immediately into action. He sent the Captain of the Guard, Davenport, out to find a cure. He would try anything.

“Anything?” Captain Davenport asked. The King nodded.

The Captain rode off, alone, to the home of a witch named Paloma. He’d heard tales of a flower from another world, the Phoenix Fire Flower, that could not only cure illness, but possessed unheard of magical properties.

“Captain Davenport,” Paloma said. “I knew that you would come.”

“Yeah, yeah, Paloma, we get it, your psychic. Can you tell me what I need to know?”

“That’s very rude, Captain. Have a scone.”

“I don’t have time for scones, Paloma.” He began to draw his sword. “Where is the Phoenix Fire?”

Paloma smiled. “There is no need for that. Take this crystal. It will guide you. But be warned, Captain. Every action holds an opposite reaction.”

Davenport had been expecting the flower. He had not been expecting the giant jellyfish. He began to draw his sword once more, but something made him stop. The larger of the two jellyfish laid a tentacle on his head. It was mesmerizing.

“Hello,” Davenport said.

The jellyfish hummed.

“I need this flower. To save some children.”

He moved towards it, but the jellyfish moved as well, curling itself around the flower.

“Are you its protector?” Davenport asked.

The jellyfish hummed again.

“Well, how about this. I’ll take the flower, and you can come with. Both of you. I promise, I have no ill intent.”

Both fish lit up.

Davenport rode back that night with the Phoenix Fire Flower and two magic space jellyfish in tow. The King was too desperate to question him.

They made quick work of the flower, grinding it up and turning it to a potion. The fish seemed worried, but allowed the humans to do their work.

The fed it to the twins, who were getting sicker and sicker each day. The potion was bright red and warm to the touch. As it touched Lup’s lips, she screamed. Everyone held their breath. And then, she laughed. Her brown hair turned rapid fire yellow, and then orange, and then red, in a cascading ombre that looked like flames. She giggled again, a happy, healthy baby once more. They immediately gave Taako the potion, to the same effect.

It was the next day when they discovered the rather major side effects to the Phoenix Fire.

The on-duty nurse, who had dozed off, woke to the smell of smoke. She scrambled up, rushing to the bassinette where Lup and Taako sat, giggling, as their crib burned around them. Over the next week, stranger and stranger things began to happen. Stuffed toys would come alive, walking around and making sounds. Rattles would turn to crystal. More and more things would go up in flames. Occasionally, the children would levitate as they slept. Their eyes changed color, one red and one gold, both glowing at random times.

But the most miraculous thing happened when an older nurse was holding them, singing softly. Lup began to laugh and made grabby hands at the woman. As she did this, the nurse felt a burning sensation in her chest. She put down the baby and went to settle herself. The sensation stopped immediately, and only when should stood up again did she catch a glimpse in the mirror and notice what had happened. She was almost twenty years younger than she had been just moments ago.

The twins, along with all of their other other abilities, could cure any illness, even aging. They were hailed as messiahs by the kingdom. Magical prodigies who would save them all. People came from all around to see their miracles. And for a few years, they were happy. They were safe.

At the age of three, Lup decided that she was much more suited to be a princess than a prince, and her name would be Lup now, thank you very much. Taako, of course, took to this change immediately, and hell hath no fury like Taako protecting his sister. By the time they were five, the twins were a menace. Lup, code name Firecracker, and Taako, code name Diva Queen, ran hand in hand through the castle, leaving a trail of loud laughter and the smell of smoke in their wake.

The King, of course, let them get away with anything. They had a roving band of nannies, not that they needed any, since apparently the protection of the jellyfish–now called the Voidfish–carried over from the flower to the twins. They were a sight to see, two wild-haired, glowing-eyed, magic-wielding five-year-olds who were constantly being followed by one giant and one tiny magic floating jellyfish. They were beloved by the kingdom. They were funny, smart, and while they could be Class Act Brats, they were inherently kind and compassionate people who were always willing to use their incredible gifts to help anyone in need.

Word of their magic had reached outside of the kingdom. In fact, it had reached the sharp ears of another set of twins. A set of twins who were looking to live forever. And so, a plan was hatched.

They would travel to the kingdom, disguised as merchants. Under the cover of night, they would take their wagon to the side of the castle. They would scale the castle and use an enchantment they’d learned to open the window. They would sneak inside and use rags soaked in chloroform to make sure the prince and princess were completely asleep. Then, the would stash them in the wagon and set off for their tower, hidden deep in the felicity wilds. By the time the kingdom woke up, they would be long gone.

They set off one cold night, dressed in dark black cloaks. Their wagon was pulled by stolen stallions disguised as best they could as common pack mules. The ride took two days, nonstop. Ever since the death of their brother, Edward and Lydia had been studying dark magic. They barely needed sleep anymore.

They arrived in the evening, charming the guards at the gate of the city with their sinister charisma. Once night fell, Edward cast a sleep spell on the guards at the gate, while Lydia stole the keys that opened the gates to the palace courtyard. They maneuvered the wagon to be right under the room of the twins. There were childish drawings hanging in the stained glass windows.

Lydia smiled at her brother as he threw up the rope ladder, anchoring it with magic. They climbed in silence. Lydia enchanted the window open. They were talented magic users, but the amount of energy required to cast spells was massive.

Everything was going off without a hitch, until they saw the jellyfish.

It was massive, at least half of the room. They’d never seen a jellyfish in real life before, only read about them in books or seen paintings. Still, they were pretty sure this was not an average jellyfish. It floated about in the air. A galaxy pattern swirled through its bell. It was dark, seemingly sleeping. Or, resting?

They shared a glance, a look of questioning. Edward shrugged, and Lydia frowned, deciding that they would move forward. The twins were sleeping in the same bed, curled next to each other so that their foreheads were touching. Their fire-gradient hair glowed slightly in the darkness. They were under a heavy red quilt. There seemed the be another, smaller jellyfish curled up at the foot of the bed.

They readied their chloroform rags and each went to one side of the beds. They leaned over the twins, about to stifle them, when a loud bellowing rang out through the castle.

Edward and Lydia snapped up, sharing a look of panic. The large jellyfish charged at them, its bell bursting with different colors. Edward reached into his coat, pulling out a poison-tipped knife, while Lydia began to charge up a spell.

It bellowed again, and Lydia heard a gasp, and then a shriek. She snapped her head back to the young twins, who were scrambling out of bed. Their eyes and hair were glowing powerfully now, it looked as if they were on fire. And then Lydia realized that they were. Their hands held balls of dancing red flame.

“Who are you?” One of them said, the boy– _Taako_ –Lydia thought. His voice was shaky, but firm.

She smiled. “My name is Auntie Lydia,” she said, sickly sweet. “I’m here to help you. Can you call off your… scary jellyfish, please?”

“We’ve never heard of an Auntie Lydia,” The girl– _Lup_ –said.

“Taako,” Someone yelled from the other side of the room. “Lup! Get away from them!” The King stood in the doorway, wearing pajamas and holding a baton. “You stay away from my children!” He growled.

Lydia frowned. This was going to be so much _messier_ than she’d hoped.

“Edward, darling,” she said.

“Of course, sister dear.”

Her brother charged at the King while she lunged for the children. They fought against her, one of them grabbed her arm, burning her. She hissed, and pushed one of them back with a powerful spell, grabbing the other around their waist and pushing the chloroform rag over their mouth. The child’s flailing became weaker, and the fire on their hands died out. Their hair began to glow less violently as their eyes drooped shut.

The other child howled and tried to get up, but Lydia threw another spell at them.

“Careful, Lydia,” Edward chided from across the room. “Don’t want to kill it.”

Edward was grappling with the King. They had gotten a few licks on each other, and Edward seemed to be bleeding severely, physical combat was not his strong suit.

The jellyfish bellowed again, and moved across the room towards the child who Lydia had magicked.

“Fuck it,” Lydia growled, starting for the window. One was better than none.

“No!” The King yelled, lunging at her. Edward smiled and tackled him, plunging the knife into his throat. The King’s veins streaked with black, and he fell to the ground, spluttering.

The smaller jellyfish rushed at Lydia, who was almost out the window. It tugged at the child slung over her shoulder. Edward grabbed it by the tentacles. Maybe it could be useful.

The twins climbed out the window, slamming it shut with magic. The larger jellyfish began to slam itself against the window, but Lydia and Edward were already on the ground. They threw the child and the jellyfish in the back of the cart and took off, riding like madmen out of the city with their prize.

They were halfway to the tower when Lydia bothered to examine the child. Stitched on the collar of her nightgown was one word, in bright red embroidery.

_Lup._

The voidfish watched as the carriage rode out of the kingdom, taking its child, taking its phoenix. It floated over to its other phoenix, knocked out and curled up against the wall. It cradled the phoenix in its tentacles, and let out a bellow, as loud as possible, trying to wake the castle. It bellowed persistently until people flooded the room, far too late. They discovered the phoenix’s father, or, the shell of him.

Eventually, the voidfish’s phoenix came to.

“Lup!” he cried out, tears streaming down his face. “Lup!”

He looked around the room, searching for the other phoenix. His eyes landed on his father, and he let out another strangled sob.

“Dad?”

The voidfish held him as he cried, all alone in the world.

A heavy fog of sadness set over the kingdom. It strangled the voidfish, it was so thick. The voidfish was lost. Its phoenix refused to get out of bed. Nurses brought him food, but he didn’t eat.

The voidfish waited for things to go back to normal. Waited for the other phoenix to return. For its child to return. Nothing happened.

The captain sent out search parties. People were interrogated. They sent more search parties. Nothing happened.

A week passed. Then a month. Then another.

The voidfish sat on the bed with its phoenix. He was so hurt, so broken. So dim. The voidfish bellowed.

“It’s not fair,” He said. “She’s gone. Everyone is gone. Everyone is dead and I’m all alone. And no one is doing anything! Why can’t someone just make it better! I just want her back! I want my dad! I want Lup!”

The voidfish ached. At that moment, it knew. Its phoenix would not survive this. Not in his current state, at least.

The voidfish bellowed, and the world began to rework itself.

Once upon a time, there was a King and a Queen. The loved each other more than anything, and all that they desired was a child. They tried and tried, and finally, the Queen became pregnant. But it was a difficult pregnancy. She died of complications in childbirth, leaving behind one, healthy baby boy. The King loved his son, but couldn’t stand the heartbreak. He passed in his sleep some few months later.

The prince never knew his parents, and was raised lovingly by the palace staff. He was a private boy, with few friends. He was spoiled and closed off, confiding in no one but the Voidfish, a mystical guardian that no one questioned.

The only thing unique about the prince was his hair and eyes. His hair, which he kept short, was blonde at the roots but transitioned into orange, then a bright red at the ends, without any sort of dyes or upkeep. His eyes, which were two different colors, gold and red, glowed slightly. These features, though, however strange, seemed to be benign.

Lup knew none of this. She didn’t know much of anything. She supposed this came with the territory of living in a tower with her only contact to the outside world being her aunt and uncle. Not that she minded. This was the way it was, and had always been.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ya yeet

Lup knew that her life was weird. She didn’t need to go outside to figure that one out. Most kids didn’t live in a dark tower with heavy black velvet curtains on the wall that she could move even if she wanted too, only one small window that she didn’t have the key to. Most kids didn’t have a pet jellyfish that never seemed to eat and didn’t live underwater. Most kids didn’t have hair so long that they had to hang it on hooks so they didn’t step on it. Most kids didn’t have magic powers.

But Lup didn’t mind. Did she want to go outside, yeah, sure. Had she wanted to go outside for as long as she could remember? Of course. Did she think it was maybe a  _ little _ ridiculous to be eighteen years old who had never touched the ground? Yes. But she wasn’t miserable or anything. 

And she wasn’t a complete hermit. Other than Junior (her jellyfish), she had her Auntie Lydia and Uncle Edward who came to see her as often as possible. Lup wasn’t completely sure where they lived when they weren’t in the tower, but they were there a lot. They brought her food and books and they gave her her violin and taught her how to play chess–they loved games. When she was little, Lup would play games with them for hours on end. But they would always get a little peeved when she beat one of them, and by the time that Lup was twelve, she was beating them every time, so they stopped playing. 

Still, Lup liked to play games. She had been trying to teach Junior chess for years. 

“Lulu!” She heard the glittering ruby on her bedside table chirp. She grabbed it, feeling the warmth in her hand. 

“Hi, Auntie Lydia,” She said, smiling. “How are you doing? I feel like we haven’t talked lately. Let’s catch up.” 

There was a snort on the other end. “We can talk all you want once you let Eddie and me in.” 

“I can’t let you in unless you open the window.”

Lup turned towards where she knew the window was located. The curtain blew and a stained glass window was revealed for a second, before it disintegrated. Lup ran over to it, her bare feet slapping against the cold tile. She tugged her hair from its configuration and tossed it down. It reached the bottom of the tower. Lup had never measured how long that was, but it had to be more than fifty feet. She saw her aunt and uncle smiling from the ground. They grabbed on to the ends of her hair and began to climb up. It ached on Lup’s scalp, but they had been giving her a special salve her entire life to make it easier to bear. She was pretty sure it also made her hair grow longer faster. 

Once Edward and Lydia were pulled in, Edward snapped his finger and the window reappeared, being covered again by the black curtains. 

“Good morning, Lulu,” Lydia said, grabbing Lup by the shoulders and kissing her cheeks. Edward did the same. 

“It’s so dark in here,” Edward said. “How many times have we told you to keep the chandelier lit?” 

Lup sighed and waved her hands. Small flames appeared on the wicks of the many candles about the room. It reminded Lup of the vampire lairs in her stories. 

“I don’t need it,” she said. 

Lydia sighed. “Yes, but darling, the fact that you can see in the dark is… how shall we say it…”

“Creepy,” Edward supplied. 

“Yes, I believe that is the word.” 

Lup rolled her eyes. “Well I think the fact that you guys can’t see in the dark is creepy, so there’s that.” 

“But Lulu, most people can’t see in the dark.”

“No people, in fact. You’re the only one.”

“Which is what makes you so special,” Edward said in a baby voice, pinching Lup’s cheeks. Lup rolled her eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Darling,” Lydia said. 

“Ah, yes, right,” Edward said. He released Lup’s face and grabbed her hair, wrapping it around his and Lydia’s hands. 

“Take it away darling.”

“Do you have my stuff?” Lup asked.

“What?” Lydia asked. 

“My stuff,” Lup said. “My books. My cooking supplies. I wanted to try making macarons.”

“We’ll get to that, Lulu dear,” Edward said. “But we need to do our beauty routine first.”

“No,” Lup said. “I want my stuff first.” 

“ _ No _ ,” Lydia said, yanking at Lup’s hair. “You’ll do this first.” 

Lup sighed and closed her eyes.  _ Think happy thoughts _ . 

The smell of new books. Junior. Her violin. Feeling the air when she sticks her head out the window to let Lydia and Edward in. Freshly washed sheets. When Lydia brings her flowers. Feeling the flower petals between her fingers.  _ Someone holding her, someone smiling at her, someone teasing her, someone curled up with her as she slept _ .

Her hair burned bright. It was hot to the touch, and the light was blinding. Her eyes flew open. They were glowing so brightly that it looked as if they were flames. Lydia and Edward released her, her hair so hot they couldn’t bear it. 

“What the  _ hell _ , Lup?” Edward hissed. 

Lup turned back to them, and they looked as if they had shed thirty years. Where they had just a moment ago been firmly middle-aged, now they seemed as if they could pass off as Lup’s age. Lup was shocked. She’d only been going for about thirty seconds, it usually took at least two minutes to strip these many years. 

“I don’t…” Lup said. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I was just thinking about something… no, some _ one _ and I–” She tried to reach for the memory once more, but it was gone, like smoke through her fingers. “I don’t know.” 

Edward and Lydia shared a look of concern. “Alright, dear,” Lydia said. She sat on Lup’s bed and opened her arms. Lup walked over to her and sat down as well, slumping into her aunt. Aunt Lydia began to gently card through her hair, a sharp contrast to the previous harshness. 

Edward grabbed the basket that he had left on the floor, near one of the velvet curtains. He smiled and brought it over, placing it in Lup’s lap. 

“Here you are, darling.”

Lup smiled and began looking through the basket. There were some ingredients, more flour, milk, eggs, she handed those to Junior who floated over and put them in her kitchen area. 

“Oh shit!” She said, smiling when she came across a new book of sheet music. Lydia smiled and patted her leg. 

Then there were some books, one of them the new “Caleb Cleveland,” which was Lup’s favorite series. She softly flipped through the pages, smelling the new print. 

“Thanks, Aunt Lydia,” she said, hugging her aunt, “Thanks, Uncle Edward,” she reached over to hug him as well. 

“And there’s one more thing,” Edward said. 

“Something brand new,” Lydia added. 

Lup’s eyes widened. 

“We know you’ve been wanted more things from the outside world,” Edward said. 

“And that it’s always been a dream of yours to go outside,” Lydia continued. 

Lup began nodding. Could this be it? She was on the edge of her seat, a small flame dancing around her fingers in excitement. She felt Junior, perched on her shoulder, buzz with anticipation. 

“So we got you–”

“This umbrella!” 

Edward held out a bright red umbrella. 

“Oh,” Lup said, deflating. 

“It doesn’t get more outside than that!” Lydia said. “We thought you could pretend to be in a thunderstorm or something.”

“Pre… pretend to be in a thunderstorm,” Lup repeated. 

“Yeah!” Edward said. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

“No,” Lup said, taking it and turning it around in her hands. “No, yeah, I… I like it, it’s just…” She sighed. “I don’t want to  _ pretend _ to be in a thunderstorm. Or pretend to be in the sun. Or in the snow or the wind or the water or… whatever! I want to be in that stuff for  _ real _ . I want to go outside. I’m an adult, for God’s sake!” 

“Eighteen is not an adult–”

“Then what is an adult?! Twenty? Thirty? Are you gonna keep me here when I’m sixty-five?! You can’t shield me from the outside world forever!” 

Lup was pacing now. The flames on the candles surged. Junior floated nervously next to her. 

“Lup, you know why you can’t go outside,” Edward said. “The outside world is dangerous for you!” 

“It’s dangerous for everyone!” Lup yelled. The velvet curtains swayed. The chandelier shook. 

“Lulu, stop acting like a child. You’re too old to be throwing a tantrum,” Lydia said with a glare. 

“Give me one good reason why I should stay locked up,” Lup said, crossing her arms and glaring. “I can make fire from my hands! I can make things float around the room. I can make things blow up just by looking at them hard enough! I can handle myself!” 

Lydia glared. She stood up from the bed. “Fine,” she said, her voice ice. “You want a reason why the outside world is dangerous? I’ll give you several. Around every corner, some man twice your size is waiting to grab you and hold you down while he takes everything he wants. Every street, shop, and inn is brimming with thieves who would rob the shoes off your feet, if you  _ had _ any. People are liars, swindlers, and cheats, who only want to take advantage of you. You think you’re dangerous? You’re nothing. You’re a naive, idiotic, uninformed child who would get eaten alive. 

And that’s just if you’re normal. You, with your strange hair and eyes? With your  _ powers _ ? You’d have a mob on you in minutes, ready to burn you at the stake, throw you in a river. Witch, they’d call you. They’d stick needles under your fingernails and throw pepper in your eyes. They’d draw and quarter you. They shear off your hair and pull off your hands. You used to get scared of shadows on the walls. Your great and powerful magic won’t protect you from a thousand angry villagers coming at you with pitchforks.”

“Aunt Lydia, I–”

“And those are just the people. That's to say nothing about everything else coming at you. Floods. Blizzards. Poison. The  _ Plague _ . What will you do when all your friends are dying around you, and all you can do is wait for the blood and the sickness to infect and overtake you? When–”

“ _ Stop _ !” Lup said, her heart seizing up with fear. “I understand,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. Stop.”

Lydia smiled. Edward tutted. Lup stepped forward, her hair dimmed. Lydia opened her arms again, and Lup ran into them. 

“Listen, darling,” Edward said, rubbing her back. “We love you so much, and we just want to protect you. Think of how we would feel if you were raped, or murdered, or–”

“I get it,” Lup said. “I’m sorry.”

“And we forgive you,” Edward said. 

“I love you guys,” Lup said. 

“I love you more,” Edward said. 

“I love you most,” Lydia finished. 

“But Lup?” Edward said. 

“Yes?”

“Don’t ever ask to leave this tower again.  _ Ever _ . Do you understand?” 

Lup nodded. “I understand,” she whispered. 

“Well dear,” Lydia released her, suddenly cheerful. “We really must get going.”

“Already?” Lup asked. 

“We’ve got things to do. And you’ve got all your new books and music to try out!”

“Yeah, I guess but–”

“Ciao, love! We’ll see you soon!” 

“B-Bye, I guess.” 

Edward waved his hand and Lup walked over towards the newly appeared and then disappeared window. She let down her hair and her aunt and uncle slid down. She looked on at them on the ground, and Lydia blew her a kiss before the window was covered again by a heavy black curtain. 

Lup sighed and sunk down to the floor, sitting against the wall. Junior floated over and perched on her knee. 

“Well,” Lup said. “That could’ve gone better.”

Barry looked out from the roof of the castle. He sighed. “Yeah,” He said, “I could get used to this.”

Magnus laughed. “I’m already used to it.” 

Barry rolled his eyes. “You have no appreciation for the little things.”

“I have plenty of appreciation for little things! Little shiny things, like jewels, and coins.” 

“What would Julia say if she found out she was in love with a ruffian like you?”

“Mmm… probably something like, ‘Magnus, that makes you even hotter than you already were, let’s have sex right now!’” 

“You’re ridiculous.” 

“Yeah, but I’m the only one dumb enough to work with your clumsy ass. You ready to do this?” 

“Of course.”

Magnus pulled out a screwdriver, while Barry got to securing one end of the harness to the top of the castle and the other to his midsection. 

“It’s off!” Magnus said.

Barry nodded and jumped in through the hole where a window used to be. The throne room was huge, with large drawn curtains and ornate paintings and statues abound. Barry thought about how the castle had been closed since the prince had been born and couldn’t help feeling a little bitter. So much beauty and no one was allowed to see it. The crown was at the center of it all, large and golden with rubies inlaid. Four guards were posted around it, all facing out. Barry smirked. 

He got a little bit lower and reached down. His fingers brushed the gold and he grabbed the crown, then smiled to himself. He tugged twice on the rope, signaling Magnus to pull him up. 

And then he heard a voice. 

“I’m just saying Krav, I really think that a nice soft pink would go better with the bedspread.” 

“Prince Taako,” Another voice said. “You already painted your bedroom blue. Last week.” 

“Yeah, well, what the fuck else am I supposed to do than redecorate this place a million fuckin’ times?” 

“You could try ruling–”

Barry was yanking at the rope, desperately trying to get Magnus to go fast. But it was to no avail. The prince rounded the corner and was staring right at Barry. 

“What. The. Fuck,” He said. 

Screw it. Barry’s cover was blown anyway. 

“Magnus!” He yelled. “Get me out of here!” 

“Somebody do something!” Prince Taako yelled at his guards. “He’s stealing my shit!” 

Magnus finally pulled Barry out of the palace. Barry shed his harness, grabbed his bag and started running. 

“Time to go, time to go, time to go!” He yelled at Magnus. Magnus began running after him. 

“What... the fuck... is going... on!” Magnus yelled while running. 

The guards answered his question, by shooting an arrow that narrowly missed Magnus’s ear. 

“God damn it!” He yelled out. 

They two of them skidded to the edge of the roof, then scrambled down, mounting their anxious, nickering horses. Barry kicked his horse and he took off like a shot, with Magnus at his side. 

They rode into the woods, the guards close on their heels. 

“I’ll distract them,” Magnus said, quiet enough that no one else could hear. “You take the crown and go. Meet me at Julia’s when it’s safe.” 

Barry nodded. He was worried about his friend, but Magnus was a more than capable fighter. 

“Barry,” Magnus yelled out. “This way!” He kept galloping forward, but Barry veered his horse down a path obscured by trees. 

He rode until he was sure that the horse was going to pass out, and then he walked until he couldn’t anymore. He slept that night in the woods, his jacket over his head and his body curled around the bag that held the crown. 

That morning, Barry woke up utterly and completely lost. He picked a random direction and started walking, hoping for the best. He walked like that for a day, then stopped to sleep again. On the third day, Barry was almost dying of thirst. He was resigned to the fact that he would die here in the woods when he heard a strange noise. 

It was… music. Definitely. A violin, maybe. But distorted. Like it was underwater. Barry wandered weakly for a bit longer, trying to follow the sound, but he could locate the source of it. 

“Maybe I’m going crazy,” He said. “I’m hallucinating, and then I’m gonna die. I mean, I am talking to myself.” 

The violin music was beginning to drive him crazy. It was right there! But there was no sign of civilization for days. 

“Fuck it,” Barry said. He closed his eyes and began to mumble. Barry had been secretly studying dark magic since he was a child, so a simple revealing spell was too difficult, even in his altered state. 

A large grove of brush and thorns that he’d thought to be nothing more than a particularly nasty part of the forest began to twist and change, revealing a doorway to a hidden meadow. Barry briefly wondered if it was a pocket dimension. That was the sort of magic he’d only read about, though. It probably wasn’t even possible. 

The meadow was grassy, with flowers, and a stream. The most eye-catching thing, though, was the giant tower in the center. Barry was amazed that it wasn’t visible from the main part of the forest. It was taller than any tree he’d ever seen. It was dark, made of cobblestones. Barry saw one stained glass window at the top. 

Maybe it was his intense hunger and thirst, his bafflement at the whole situation, or some strange destiny compelling him, but Barry reached into his bag and pulled out two daggers. Shoving them in the molding of the stones, he began to climb. 

“I’ll kill him,” Taako said. 

Kravitz sighed. “Taako, please.” 

“Who does he think he is!” Taako spun around to face Kravitz, which was a glorious feat, considering that Taako was decked out in a long periwinkle dress with a full train and several underwire hoops. “Fucking peasants.” He flopped down onto the settee, his dress making a quiet “poof” sound. 

“You have another crown,” Kravitz said. 

“But that one complimented my eyes.”

“Taako… the other one looks exactly the same. Why do you even have two crowns that look exactly the same!” 

Taako furrowed his brow. “I don’t… I don’t know. But listen. I like that one. And I want it back.” 

Kravitz sighed. “Okay. I’ll send out a team of guards. I mean, I was already  _ going _ to send out a team of guards, but I’ll do it extra super pronto. I’ll even get Captain Davenport on it.”

“I want to go to.” 

“T-What?”

“I want to go on the retrieval mission.” 

“Why…” Kravitz sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why would you want to do that? We have guards! You have an entire staff–”

“All the guards are incompetent! I mean, you’re a guard and all you ever do is sit in the castle and bitch at me–”

“Taako, I’m not a guard, I’m your advisor–”

“Same diff!” 

“Not at all, actually!” 

“Listen, Keith–”

“You know, you know my name! Now you’re just being a dick!”

“I’ll have you executed.” 

“I’d like to see you try.” 

The two of them had been moving closer and closer throughout this exchange of words and were almost nose to nose. 

“I’m going,” Taako said, putting his arms on his hips. “I’m the prince, and that means I get to do what I want.” 

“That’s not what that means. You being the prince means that you need to stay alive to rule! I can’t have you… you can’t go gallivanting off on some wild goose chase and get killed by bandits!”

“You underestimate me.” 

“You’re acting like a child, Taako.” 

“That’s  _ Prince _ Taako, to you.” 

“You’re not going to track down this thief. Why does it even matter this much! I haven’t seen you care about something this much since… actually, nope, you know what? I’ve never seen you care this much about anything.” 

Taako held Kravitz’s gaze for a second, before sitting back down on the settee. He tugged on his hair. It was warm, as it always was. Taako had always run warm. 

“I don’t… listen. It’s important to me. It feels important. Do you get that? Have you ever had something that feels important, like it's some sort of underlying, imperical part of your being, even if you can’t figure out why it is?”

“No,” Kravitz said, deadpan. “But I understand that this is important to you. Which is why I will get my absolute best guards on it. A whole team. Scouring the forest. You’ll have your crown back before you can say… hachi machi. But you have to stay here. Can you do that?”

“Ugh. Fine.” 

“Promise?”

“Yes, Krav, I promise. I’m not seven.” 

“Really? I wouldn’t know,” Kravitz said under his breath. 

“What was that?” Taako asked, quirking his eyebrow. 

“Nothing!”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Thank you, Taako. Really.” 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get too fuckin’ happy about it.”

Kravitz smiled and gave Taako a small bow of the head as he left the room. 

The next morning, Kravitz woke up at the crack of dawn. He was not a morning person by nature, but by necessity. Taako got up before the crack of dawn. He liked to watch the sunset with the weird jellyfish that lurked in his room. Kravitz had learned not to bother them in these moments, it was one of the few times Taako seemed to have an emotion that wasn’t petulance, but he still needed to be awake for them, to make sure no one was going to try and assassinate the prince. 

He padded around his quarters a bit, pouring himself some coffee and washing his face. The sun was just coming up by the time he got to Taako’s usual sun watching spot–the balcony of his old nursery–but he wasn’t there. 

“Taako?” Kravitz asked. He went to Taako’s quarters, but he still wasn’t there either. Strange. “Taako?” He called. Kravitz frowned to himself.

He walked over to the entrance of the castle and grabbed one of the main guards, a young man named Avi. 

“Avi,” He asked. 

“Yes, sir?”

“Have you seen Taako today?”

“Um…”

Kravitz raised an eyebrow. “Avi?” He asked. 

“He, uh, he told me not to tell you, sir.” 

“Oh really?”

“And… since he is the prince…”

“He may be the prince, but I handle the hiring and firing of personnel.” 

Avi gulped. 

“Well, he was dressed in peasant riding clothes… and he, he went to the stables–”

“God damn it.” 

“And he took Garryl. And then, uh, he left.” 

Kravitz nodded. “Mhm. Avi?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t I specifically tell all of you that he is not allowed to leave the castle without supervision?”

“You did say that, sir.”

“Then why,  _ the fuck _ , is Taako not in his quarters right now?” 

“Well, I mean, he’s the prince, sir. He pulled rank.” 

Kravitz took a deep breath. And then another. And then said, very quietly and with much surety: “I’m going to kill him.” 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr: @ipretwins, twitter: @kathisntvalid, and leave a comment if you're feeling particularly lovely!


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